This invention relates to the heating of various liquids, food, or mixtures by microwave energy and has particular reference to appliances for cooking sauces, hot cereals or the like with a microwave oven.
It is commonly known that heat may be applied to foods in liquid or mixture form. These foods may be heated by radiation or convection on well-known conventional stoves. The stoves may be fueled by electrical energy, by the burning of liquid or gaseous fuel or by the combustion of solid fuel. One way to heat sauces is in an ordinary cooking pot. The food in the pot is then stirred with a spoon while held above an open flame. The heat from the flame is usually concentrated in one area. This may cause the bottom of a pot to have an uneven distribution of heat.
The ingredients within food tend to separate as the food is heated. To prevent separation, the contents of the cooking pot must be stirred while the food is being heated. Mixing of the sauce will more evenly distribute heat and prevent burning of the sauce.
Sauce can also be heated in container within a microwave oven. To more evenly heat the sauce, the sauce must be stirred. Stirring is done by first turning off the oven. Second the microwave oven must be opened. Third, the container holding the sauce is removed. Fourth, using ordinary cooking utensils, the sauce is stirred. Finally, the user must then place the container back into the microwave oven for further heating.
It has been found that this method is inconvenient to the microwave oven user. The user must stand over the microwave oven. At set intervals the user must stop the cooking process to stir the sauce.
If food is not stirred when cooked, the food must be cooked longer. Finally, parts of the food may be overcooked and other parts undercooked.